The son of Mary and Matthew Crawley
by ningostar
Summary: Downton Abbey - Story is set after the Christmas Special 2012. The baby is born and Mary is resting in the hospital. She hasn't found out about Matthew but she is about to. (I think this is eventual Mary/Thomas OR Mary/Matthew, idk, haven't decided)
1. Chapter 1: Marcus

**A/N: I have been JUST a reader for a long while now, of many fandoms, not just Downton. I have enjoyed in silence and appreciated so many others' writing and I have never had the urge to write anything. But after watching the Downton Christmas Special, I sat in my chair and just suddenly wanted to write. This has never happened before. I am scared but also excited. Leave any comments/reviews. I really hope you like it! **

Mary stares at the bundle in her arms. So small, so fragile. She smiles as he gurgled and grabs at the air, she gave him a finger to hold and she stared into the face that looks so much like the man she loves. She wondered when her Papa will arrive at the hospital to see his grandson, wondering how many handkerchiefs her Mama will go through that day.

Matthew has just left her and she's feeling lonely and so tired. She hasn't had any time to rest after the delivery and she calls for a nurse to take the Baby away so she could rest. She realized that they need a name for the Baby but Matthew had left before she could bring it up. She makes a mental note to discuss that again when she sees him later on.

Oh it's not like they haven't talked about it. They have. So many nights they stayed up discussing what the Baby's name would be when the he or she was born. Mary had secretly hoped for a girl even though she knew a boy would be better for the family. She had told that to Matthew once, right before they fell asleep. As soon as the mumbled words left her mouth, she blushed, hoping that Matthew hadn't heard her. But he did and he just chuckled and kissed her cheek. He said to her, "My darling, girl or boy, heir or not, if our first-born is not what you want, we can always have another." and Mary fell asleep with a smile on her face, the last thing she saw was her husband's cheeky grin.

She's thinking her idea of 'Marcus' as the Baby's name would be great. Matthew might not like it as much as she does, but she'll make him like it, she knows it. She dozed of into sleep thinking of Matthew cradling baby Marcus.


	2. Chapter 2: Unease

**A/N: I wrote Chapters 1 and 2 together. It's up now. Review please! I need inspiration. I've been up since 3 a.m. watching Downton and it's 8am now. There might be mistakes. Forgive me. **

Mary can hear people talking to each other and for a moment she was annoyed for she thought that she was still at Downton in her room and her own bed and that the silly maids were disturbing her sleep. Then she heard someone say Matthew's name and she remembered Marcus and where she was and her annoyance faded away. She smiled.

She then heard Edith say "Oh but look, Mary is smiling in her sleep."

"I'm not sleeping my dear sister" Mary said sarcastically and opened her eyes. She was rewarded with the face of a shocked Edith. She turned to see her Mama sitting by her bed and her Papa standing behind, touching her shoulder.

"Have you seen Marcus yet, Mama?" Mary asked.

"Marcus?" "Who's Marcus?" her parents looked confused and alarmed. She smiled even wider.

"Marcus is my son Papa. That's his name. Have you seen him? Where is he?" She suddenly felt worried. She needed to see her son. She wanted to hold him.

"Oh Mary you scared me for a second there." her Mama reached out and touched her hand. "Marcus is in the nursery, we saw him for a moment when we came in but I wanted to come and see you first." Cora smiled at her eldest daughter, her eyes welling up.

"That's right Mary, we wanted to see how you were. You weren't supposed to have the baby… Marcus, for another three weeks, we were so worried when we heard." Robert said.

"Don't worry Papa. I am fine. Just slightly tired that is all. As one would be with all this noise and no time to rest." She said, with a warm smile in her Papa's direction. "But I just need to see Marcus now. Can someone get him for me? And where is Matthew? Why isn't my husband sitting by my bed side keeping vigil?" Mary smiled inwardly at her own joke. She saw her family exchange looks but didn't think much of it. They often did that when she made her sarcastic remarks or when they didn't understand her humour. She missed Matthew. He and Carson, the family's butler, were the only few who understood her fully. Where WAS Matthew?

"I'll go get Baby Marcus." Edith said. Mary nodded thanks at her younger and only sister left on this world as she and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Her papa walked to the windows and looked out, seemingly deep in thought. The day was still bright, she had only been resting for a short while she realised. Mrs. Crawley couldn't hold them off any longer I suppose, Mary thought to herself. Her Mama squeezed her hand and Mary focused on her Mama's face. She looked sad. She must've been thinking of Sybil. Mary clenched her teeth and pushed all thoughts of Sybil aside as Cora started to speak. "Darling, I need to tell you something very important. Please listen to me. Matthew… Matthew has…"

"Matthewhaswork!" Her papa cleared his throat a few times and turned away from the window to face her, "I'm sorry, what I meant to say is that Matthew has URGENT work to attend to on Downton. He can't be here. He sends his love and regards. I'm sorry darling." He had cut into what her Mama was trying to tell her. Mary just stared at her parents.

She started to feel uneasy. It was unlike the Matthew she knew to not be here with her regardless of the work he might have. She knew something was wrong and her Papa was trying to keep it from her. The thoughts running around in her mind scared her. It was giving her a headache. But just at the moment the door opened and Edith walked in with Marcus in her arms, a wary nurse trailing behind. All her worries faded away, albeit temporarily, as Mary held up her arms to receive her baby. She said a silent prayer while looking at Marcus' sleeping face. She could not do this without her husband.


	3. Chapter 3: Matthew

**A/N: This chapter is done from Matthew's point of view. This is more of a build up chapter... I still haven't decided which path of Matthew's fate I wanna continue on. Help? Hope you enjoy! **

Matthew felt like the epitome of joy. He stepped on the gas pedal, urging the car to move faster. He wanted the feel of the adrenaline to continue on forever. He was a Father. He was the father of Mary's child. And he had an heir. On the first try to!

'Such good luck' was what Mary whispered in his ear when he passed the baby back to her back at the hospital. He knew what she meant. 'Life is wonderful.' Matthew thought to himself. The grin hasn't left his face since he left the hospital.

He was rushing home to announce the good news. Albeit they all knew already for Mary had asked her lady's maid, Anna, to call ahead of his arrival at Downton to put them all at ease. Matthew laughed out loud at the image that came to his mind: Carson's scrunched up worried face and the pacing that would wear out the carpets in Downton if nobody had called to update them. Any information would've been welcome news to the family, and good news celebrated both upstairs and downstairs. Matthew knew Mary thought herself hated by everybody sometimes, but in actual fact, she was rather well liked and respected by the downstairs people. They would worry for her too. He suddenly hoped that Robert would be opening the bottle of 20-year-old whiskey that he knew the Lord Grantham kept hidden behind two of his favourite books. He can't wait to have a taste of that drink!

He turned his face up to the rare blue sky, closing his eyes for just a moment, enjoying the rare feel of the warm sun rays on his skin. His hair was tousled from the drive but he didn't care. He had no cares in the world. He was a father! And Mary loved him. The journey they took to reach where they were now… It took forever and some of the worst moments of his life happened when he did not have Mary. He was glad they've finally settled into a comfortable pace, easily fitting into each other's life like perfect puzzle pieces. Married life suited the both of them just wonderfully.

His head snapped back towards the road as something caught his found himself staring down the front end of a truck.

The smile left his face.

Everything happened all at once.

**TBC in Matthew's POV... Do you guys want him to die?**


	4. Chapter 4: Do We Get Our Just Desserts?

**A/N: So. You want to know what happened to Matthew? Here goes. **

Matthew swerved the car to the right, but it was too late. The left bumper of the car hit the right bumper of the truck and the car flipped into the surrounding trees and there was nothing Matthew could do but hold on for dear life.

For some reason, he did not close his eyes. He saw the green of the trees, the grey of the roads, the blue of the sky one after another, one after another. It seemed like forever before he felt everything stop. He lay there; eyes wide open as the blood trickled down his face.

**A/N: He is currently suffering from a broken left femur (thigh bone), which could never have been repaired (at that time), many cuts on the back of his head from the broken glass (which caused the excessive bleeding from the "ear" that we see in the show he he he), fractures to his arms and some internal damage also occurred from being thrown around when the two vehicles crashed. **

The spare wheel on the side of the car had come loose during the impact and Matthew who for some reason, was loved by the Universe and wanted him to live. The wheel which had lodged itself under the car; prevented Matthew from being crushed by the full impact and weight. If it had, his body may well have been severed into half. There was broken glass everywhere and he had apparently landed on some of it, which left deep cuts into the back of his head.

"Mr Crawley, Mr Crawley! Oh my God. MR CRAWLEY!" A man was shaking him hard by the shoulders, screaming his name, over and over again.

Matthew blinked. Once. Twice. Everything went black.


End file.
